Last time on Azur Lane: Three Strikes, the counterattack had begun as Azur Lane liberated Wake Island. The plan is to push through the Pacific to the Sakura Home Base of Kyoten and end this war.
But it turns out that the Iron Blood had hired the Crimson Team and Varcolac Squadron to hunt down Trigger. But the Osean Ace was able to outsmart those hitmen. But it won't be the last that he will see of them.
It also seems that Prinz Eugen, Admiral Hipper and Nimi had defected and captured a freighter turn over to the Allied Forces. But it's not only aircraft, they had also found a single survivor.
But that's not all - the LRSSG had arrived in the Azur Lane world and the rest of Strider Squadron had arrived as well.
How will Azur Lane react when they realize that the rest of Strider Squadron has arrived? Will the Osean-Erusean Fleet help the Iron Blood defectors reach allied territory?
Find out in this chapter!
Azur Lane Academy
Classroom
December 19th, 2019
0930 hrs
One of the many aspects of Azur Lane HQ is the Academy, it's a school for kansen to learn more about their abilities and learn how to work in a formation. This particular class focused on Carrier Defense and Ship to Ship Combat as Trigger was overseeing the class while Langley and Nevada taught the students.
Langley is a first-generation aircraft carrier, the very first for Eagle Union. Her historical self once started out as a Collier called Jupiter until she was converted into a carrier. She was a testbed for many aviation experiments regarding the ability of planes to takeoff and land on a moving ship. Her name came from an aviation pioneer who built and flew an unmanned steam powered plane which led to two brothers drawing inspiration from his work and many others to create and fly the first airplane.
Langley herself after her rebirth as a kansen took teaching very seriously as she had also trained many naval pilots before being transferred to Oahu.
Nevada was a battleship that had served in both World Wars in the 20th Century. She was the first to be retrofitted with triple turrets and use oil instead of coal. She was the only one underway during the historical attack at Pearl in 1941. Upon her rebirth as a kansen, she had always looked out for her sister, Oklahoma, although a bit overprotective since the younger battleship wanted her to stop worrying.
The class itself consisted of Eagle Union and Royal Navy of all types. Trigger noticed that Elizabeth, Warspite, Laffey, Javelin, Unicorn, Hornet, St. Louis, Helena, the Cleveland Sisters and some of the Maid Corps were among them. Ayanami and Shinano were the only Sakura members attending the class and he also noticed that Wales was there along with her sisters, the older sister was named 'King George V' while the younger sister was named 'Duke of York' What Trigger read about these ship classes was that this battleship class was named in honor of a king and his sons. But he did notice how Duke of York had a vampire-esque look to her as she gave him a seductive smile.
He also noticed that there was a third sister to the Queen Elizabeth-Class, this one was called 'Valiant' as she sat to the left of her oldest sister while Warspite took the right.
Langley stated, "Now listen up, you must never forget the importance of Carrier Defense, that goes for destroyers and cruisers. The Carrier is your only source of air power and if you lose the carrier, you lose air superiority. A good warship screen is the best defense for a carrier strike group. If hostile vessels attempt to target the carrier, battleships will be standing between the enemy ship and the carrier. A good CAP system is always a good touch, protecting a carrier requires teamwork between air and sea. The CAP planes go after incoming strike planes and the defense ships and strike planes will target the hostile ships."
Nevada had their attention turned to a display of a battle group,
"When it comes to the battle group, the aircraft carrier will be in the center of the group because of its importance. The battleship is to take point and rear to keep the carrier protected because of the powerful AA Defenses. Cruisers will flank the carrier while destroyers will be on the outer edges of the battlegroup. The reason is the dangers of the silent killer - submarines. Destroyers are equipped with sonar to detect enemy submarines that attempt to get within range of the battle group. If you detect a submarine, you have to launch your depth charges to either sink or throw the sub off."
She looks at the submarines in the classroom, "But this also goes to the submarines in the class since you can also engage in underwater combat with enemy submarines in order to protect the fleet."
All of a sudden, Belfast had entered the classroom with a phone in hand as she spoke,
"Pardon my interruption, but the Commander is needed."
The two teachers nodded as Trigger left the classroom. After he left the classroom, he asked,
"What's going on?"
The maid stated, "Admiral Williams needed to speak with you and he said it was urgent."
The pilot sighed, "Okay." She handed him the phone as he asked,
"Admiral?"
"Trigger, we just intercepted a transmission that originated west of Wake Island. It's…it's something that you need to hear."
"What do you mean? Is Red Axis attempting to take the island back?"
"No, but the transmission frequency…is from your country."
Trigger was surprised by this, "It was using Osea's frequency!"
"It is and I'm going to play the transmission now."
Soon enough, there was a familiar voice on the phone, a voice that Trigger never thought he would hear again,
"Merchant Vessel, this is Strider 2 of the Osean Long Range Strategic Strike Group and acting leader of Strider Squadron, what is your affiliation."
Trigger realized, "Count…he's here."
Williams asked, "Someone you know?"
Trigger stated, "That's my number 2, sir. It also means that the rest of my squadron is out there. But they were contacting a merchant vessel about their affiliation. They must have found something."
"We looked into it and discovered that the vessel is a Gründer freighter, manned by some Iron Blood defectors."
Trigger was surprised, "Defectors!?"
"One of them is in fact Bismarck's former Lieutenant. You met her twice before."
"You mean Prinz Eugen…she defected…"
"If I had to guess, not everyone was onboard with hiring Crimson and Varcolac."
Trigger stated, "Are there any more reports from Wake, sir?"
"Wake Airfield reported an E-767 touching down with the Osean insignia. It was reported to have landed due to low fuel."
Trigger had a feeling that was Long Caster, he was happy to know that his glutton of an AWACS Operator was safe. It warmed his heart to know that his squadron was in this world. But still, encountering the Iron Blood Defectors would mean that they were both in trouble. Which meant that Red Axis will be looking for Eugen.
"Sir, there is a possibility that Bismarck would send a fleet to find them."
"I know, which is why we're going to get them out of there. I heard reports of an aerial warship launch at Kyoten, they will most likely head their way."
"I need you to pass on the information to my terminal."
"Already sent. Once you and your fleet arrive, establish contact with the defectors and the rest of Strider Squadron."
"And if the aerial warship gets to us?"
The admiral chuckled, "If I understand, they are inside the engagement zone of New Guinea's Stonehenge Turret Network centered around Mt. Giluwe."
That surprised him since New Guinea was an island nation and it had a railgun network uniquely built on the highlands darting around an old dead volcano. The range of these guns covered most of the West Pacific and the Asian Continent. So they were going to use Stonehenge as a means to shoot down the aerial warship. It reminded him too much of Operation Dragon's Breath where Stonehenge Turret #4 shot down the Arsenal Bird.
Trigger soon spoke, "I'll get a fleet together after their class and brief them en-route to the mission area, sir."
"Good luck, Commander."
The call ended as he looked at Belfast which she stated,
"Another mission, Master?"
Trigger stated, "It's more than that - my whole squadron is here in the Pacific. Send a message to the airfield, tell the Nuggets to ready two F-22s equipped with Advanced Air-to-Air missiles and Advanced Small Diameter Bombs and send a message to Major Herbert to have Ridgeback Squadron ready."
Belfast bowed her head, "It will be done, Master."
Trigger stated, "Let's go reunite Strider Squadron."
Pacific Ocean
Andersen Fleet
40 miles from Wake Island
1200 hrs
To say that Prinz Eugen was surprised by this, will be an understatement, she was shocked to see a modern fleet emerge from the siren portal. Even more so when the planes appeared as well when one of them announced themselves as 'Strider 2' and considering the callsign of Azur Lane's Ace, it became clear - this is Strider Squadron.
But she noticed that the two wings of F-15s were of a different element. It was mostly Strider Squadron that stayed close to their freighter while other F-15 Eagles flanked them. As for Hipper, she saw a squadron of SU-30s flanking Strider Squadron, she would notice a sun emblem on the tails which suggests that this was an elite squadron. Nimi would notice the squadrons of F-35Cs and SU-33s conducting a combat air patrol around the fleet, protecting it.
The doctor spoke, "So the Oseans and Eruseans managed to arrive."
Eugen asked, "Oseans and Eruseans?"
"Yes, I did tell you that the Sirens have been jumping between worlds. This fleet comes from Osea and Erusea - two countries that were formerly at war - all because of some young officers and technology of my home country."
Hipper asked, "Your home country?"
The doctor said with heavy guilt, "I prefer not to say."
Nimi asked, "So you are saying that you came from another world and that the sirens have been jumping there for these freighters?"
The doc stated, "It's exactly what I theorized." He soon opened communication with the Coalition Fleet,
"All Osean and Erusean forces, this is the GIS Sudentor, we read you. We have just been liberated from an enemy fleet and are heading towards allied territory to the east."
Soon enough, Strider 2 spoke, "That voice…you're the guy from Anchorhead."
He sighed, "The 'King of All Dumbasses' as you called me."
"Well yeah, nearly causing a drone apocalypse and all."
A female voice spoke, "Hey, we've all been there, Count. No need to rub it in."
Count realized, "You're right, Hüxiãn."
The doc stated, "This vessel is also carrying defectors and wish to turn themselves over to the allies to the east."
Soon enough, he heard Sol 2's voice, "Like it or not, we better provide support."
Nimi soon took the radio and asked, "Wait, are you affiliated with Strider 1?"
There were gasps among the Osean and Erusean forces as the callsign was heard, especially from a defector. Count suspiciously asked,
"How do you know Trigger and where is he?"
Nimi confessed, "We…we were once his enemies until he proved himself to be the stronger combatant. He went out of his way to rescue those that were in trouble. We are on our way to Azur Lane HQ on the island of Oahu, that's where he is."
Count realized, "That name…I heard it before…but what does it mean?"
He soon asked, "What exactly is Azur Lane?"
But before she could answer, the Captain of the Admiral Andersen spoke, "All forces, we spotted an unknown at bearing 340 and its closing in on the fleet."
Prinz Eugen realized, "Verdammt! They found us!"
Count asked, "They?"
Hipper spoke, "Red Axis, Azur Lane's rival faction, has found us. They are the enemies!"
"Just came through a portal and we're back into it. Strider Squadron, let's cover our new friends!"
As they readied their defense, the Red Axis closed in on the Coalition fleet as two Sakura Battleships looked at the modern fleet gathering around the freighter.
One battleship, a woman with red hair tied in a messy high ponytail and has dog ears on top of her head, has reddish-brown eyes and has a long red tail. She wears a white cropped-miko uniform with black & red outlines and red & white ribbon tied on each shoulders, she wears a red hakama pants, white socks, red & gray slippers, a gray-colored shoulder armor on the left and black wooden gauntlet on each arms tied by a red string. This was Ise, she looked at the fleet and turned to her sister,
"I see the freighter and it has escorts from both air and sea. The aircraft consist of Eagles, Lightning IIs and Sukhois. The ships are a mix-match since I noticed a few Northern Parliament Kirov-Class Battlecruisers among them."
The second ship, a woman with waist-length gray hair with red-tipped tiger ears on top of her head, has reddish-brown eyes and a white tiger tail with orange tints. She wears a white kimono that has red outlines and a white tiger motif with the left side dangling on her hips. Underneath the kimono, her chest is wrapped by bandages and a black obi wrapped around her midsection. She wears a black pleated skirt, black & red armored cuffs over white socks and red & black slippers, and wears red & black arm gauntlets. This was Hyuuga, Ise's sister. She shrugged,
"What are modern Northern Parliament ships doing in the Pacific?"
They were accompanied by Deutschland and Graf Spee as the white and red haired cruiser used a spyglass to look closer at the fleet and noticed something on the Eagles,
"Wait, look at the insignia on those planes and the flags on those ships." She handed her sister the spyglass as the dark-haired kansen noticed,
"A Star Roundel? The Sakura Empire reported Three Strikes' plane having that same insignia." Deustchland saw the flags, "The flags are different, I noticed a white and blue flag with stars in a circle and a red flag with white stars in an aperture. The Sukhois have that emblem as well."
Ise noticed, "What a strange coincidence."
Hyuuga spoke as she mused, "Not only are they an unknown faction, but it's clear that they must be friends of Three Strikes. I'm eager to go up against these guys, so we can have a drink afterward."
Iron Blood Submarines U-81 and U-556 were present as well as 556 spoke,
"I will do as Lord Bismarck wishes as Neptune is my witness!"
U-81 spoke, "We'll sneak up on these ships and take out that freighter because that's what a U-boat does."
They submerged and made their way towards the Coalition fleet.
Pacific Ocean
En route to Fleet
While the Osean/Erusean Coalition prepare for their first fight against Red Axis, Strider, Ridgeback and the Azur Lane fleet were making their way to the AO. The Fleets themselves were split into two forces as New Jersey and Enterprise led a small force of battleships, which consisted of Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Arizona. The carriers in the force were Hornet, Wasp, Long Island and Bogue with light cruisers St. Louis, Helena. The destroyers in the fleet were three of the Fletcher sisters, Laffey and Ayanami as escorts.
Illustrious and Prince of Wales led a small force of cruisers which consisted of Belfast, Edinburgh, Exeter and Aurora. There were also a few light carriers like Unicorn and Centaur as well as heavy carriers like Glorious and Victorious, Illustrious' blonde sister. Queen Elizabeth and Warspite were taking part in this mission as well and every kansen was in their rigging in order to quickly make it to the AO.
As for the air units, Strider and Ridgeback rendezvoused with a waiting KC-10 Tanker for mid-air refueling. Once Trigger had docked with the tanker, he radioed everyone,
"I think you are all asking why I issued an emergency sortie? The answer is because this was a direct order by Admiral Williams. Which is why due to the urgency of this mission, I will be issuing an emergency en-route briefing."
He stated, "The Admiral's office had recently intercepted a transmission that came from the rest of my squadron."
The kansen and the other pilots, except for Belfast were surprised by this statement as Enterprise spoke,
"The rest of Strider Squadron?"
Trigger stated, "Codebreakers at Pearl intercepted a transmission from Strider 2 and was contacting a merchant vessel which was identified as the GIS Sudentor, a Gründer freighter. It became clear that this freighter is under control of defectors of the Iron Blood led by Prinz Eugen."
Wales spoke, "That's surprising of her to defect. But it must have been for a reason."
Elizabeth stated, "It's clear that she believed that Bismarck had truly lost her mind regarding the Siren Technology."
Trigger stated, "There is no doubt to anyone why she did it. But Red Axis will be looking for them, that's why we're hurrying to these coordinates to provide cover for the Sudentor and my squadron. Satellites also point out an allied fleet in the vicinity and among these ships is the aircraft carrier Admiral Andersen."
Illustrious pointed out, "I've never heard of a modern carrier with that name."
"I will tell you after the mission. But the Andersen is the flagship of the fleet guarding the Sudentor and a critical combat asset. We must join up my squadron and any remaining air and sea forces and protect the fleet, but the Sudentor and the Andersen are critical objectives - protect them until they can escape."
The Tanker plane spoke, "Strider 1, refueling complete. Disconnect."
The Raptor disconnected from the refueling boom as he got into formation beside Tabloid. He finished,
"Furthermore, Magic will not be accompanying us for this mission, we will be under the command of the AWACS 'Long Caster' just out of Wake Island. You got that?"
Everyone understood this as a series of wilcos and rogers were heard over the radio. He soon stated,
"We're just passing Wake Island now, we should be hearing from Long Caster soon."
Soon enough as the Azur Lane forces past the island, an E-767 took off as the operator spoke,
"Attention allied forces, this is Long Caster, Airborne Warning And Control System for the Long Range Strategic Strike Group. Are you the reinforcements that they sent?"
Trigger smiled as he stated, "Found you at last, Long Caster. This is Strider 1, we're on our way to the rendezvous with the Coalition fleet right now."
The AWACS operator was surprised by this as the 767 pulled up alongside the fighters,
"Trigger!? Is that you!?"
"In the flesh, pal."
He laughed, "Talk about having good luck! The Osean/Erusean Coalition came through the portal to find you. But before you got here, the Andersen picked up some unknown sea units heading towards the fleet, confirmed hostile. Count is arranging various squadrons to protect the fleet and the freighter."
Trigger stated, "Then my forces will help reinforce them. There's only two squadrons and two fleets though."
"The coalition fleet has Strider, Cyclops, Sol, Salamander and Skoll Squadrons protecting then and the Sudentor."
Trigger pointed out, "I brought along the Ridgeback Squadron and my fleet of shipgirls."
Long Caster was confused, "Shipgirls? What have you been up to?"
Trigger assured him, "I'll tell everyone once the mission is complete."
The operator understood as they made their way into the combat zone.
Andersen Fleet
Red Axis had pounced on the fleet as several siren aircraft started to assault the fleet as anti-air guns and missiles sprung to life. They needed to protect the Sudentor until reinforcements could arrive. The Osean and Erusean destroyers did detect the presence of U-81 and U-556 as ASROCS were launched which scared them away from the freighter. The Battlecruisers were throwing themselves at the siren battleships as missiles were fired from the Erusean ships and connected with the drone ships while Skoll and Salamander Squadron focused on eliminating the threat to the fleet.
Strider, Cyclops and Sol Squadron were going directly for the enemy fleet. Count spoke,
"Okay, there's the fleet, let's knock out these ships and buy our fleet some time!"
Fencer agreed, "Wilco, let's go!"
Wit spoke, "Roger that."
The three squadrons split up as Strider took on the ships in the center. The planes commenced attack on the enemy fleet as the drone ships opened fire on the attacking aircraft. Among the siren ships were the Sakura kansens, Ise and Hyuuga as they spotted Count's aircraft leading the squadron as he commenced his assault on the enemy fleet.
Ise figured, "That plane with the top hat emblem must be the leader."
Her sister giggled, "Take him down and the others will fall apart."
The two set their sights on Strider 2 as Deustchland and Graf Spee focused on Cyclops and Sol Squadron as AA Guns began to spin up from their rigging. All three squadrons saw this as they performed evasive maneuvers to keep themselves from getting their birds full of lead. Count was a bit shook,
"Where did that come from!?"
He shot a missile at an enemy ship which split the small destroyer in two as AA fire continued. Count continued to evade as he asked,
"Can anyone see who's shooting me?!"
High Roller managed to get a look at the assailant and spoke, "I see it…on the water. It looks like a…girl?"
"You better not be joking!"
"I'm not! There's literally girls with big guns standing on the water shooting at us! One of them nearly grazed me!"
Count turned his craft to the direction of the AA fire and saw that the gambler was right.
"Not one, but two girls are shooting at me!"
The Andersen Fleet were getting surrounded by siren ships because no matter how many they destroy they just keep coming. The CIWS on the Osean carrier can pick off any missiles, but if the drones launch in large numbers then they're dead. The Andersen's Captain spoke out of desperation knowing that they were in serious trouble,
"Any Allied Units, this is the Admiral Andersen, we're under attack by an enemy fleet! We're trying to protect the freighter Sudentor, but there's too many! Requesting Reinforcements! Repeat!"
An Erusean Battlecruiser fired anti-ship missiles at a siren destroyer, sinking it until a siren battleship turned its guns towards them. The Erusean sailors were a bit frightened since the drone ship was going to fire on them.
But all of a sudden, the battleship exploded as a missile collided with it along with various shells and torpedoes destroying the siren ships surrounding the battlecruiser. An Erusean sailor pointed,
"Look!"
The crew saw six aircraft descending from the clouds as several figures skimmed across the water with huge guns attached to them. They noticed that two aircraft were F-22s, but the lead bird had a familiar marking as it passed them. The battlecrusier's captain realized,
"It's…it's Three Strikes!"
He contacted the fleet, "This is battlecruiser Gunther to all allied ships! Three Strikes is here! I repeat, Strider 1 is back!"
When the fleet heard this, everyone was cheering as the two squadrons flew overhead.
Trigger was relieved to know that the fleet was okay, but he still needed to help his squadron.
"All Azur Lane forces, those siren ships are after the fleet. I need Illustrious, Unicorn and the Ridgebacks to work with Skoll Squadron and Salamander Squadron to protect the fleet. The Destroyers will protect the freighter from any enemy attacks, and use your depth charges against any hidden submarines.
New Jersey, Wales, your groups are going to assist the battlecruisers, sink the siren ships threatening them and position yourselves for a strike on the main fleet.
Enterprise, Hornet, Belfast, Edinburgh, St. Louis, Helena, you're going to be the vanguard and join me for an attack on the main fleet. That's where the rest of Strider Squadron will be. Once we get the squadrons out of there, we will initiate a saturation attack on the enemy fleet."
The fleet understood this as he stated, "All Units Engage!!"
They split off as Ridgeback Squadron went after the siren aircraft while the shipgirls went after the siren ships threatening the Coalition fleet. The destroyers went to cover the Sudentor as they launched torpedoes at a dozen siren cruisers that attempted to attack the freighter.
The fish struck as two siren battleships prepared to attack the freighter until a dozen shells struck the cannons of the drone ships. The Eagle Union and Royal Navy Destroyers saw that Prinz Eugen and Hipper are utilizing their rigging while onboard the freighter as the white-haired cruiser spoke,
"Guten Tag, Azur Lane! It's just like you to arrive in the heat of battle. These 'Oseans and Eruseans' are holding their own, but with your arrival, our survival may be assured."
Glowworm spoke, "I'm surprised that someone like you decided to defect!"
Javelin spoke, "You must have understood how dangerous it was."
Eugen stated, "It was thanks to your commander and how influential he is."
Hipper spoke, "We knew that if we stuck with him, we would survive."
Nimi spoke as she held her cannon, "The Iron Blood knows who is the strongest and it's Three Strikes!"
Hammann shouted, "QUIT WITH THE THREE STRIKES LOVE AFFAIR AND FOCUS ON THE MISSION!"
Eugen chuckled, "Considering your tsundere attitude, you have a soft spot for him, no?"
The cat girl was flustered by the cruiser's statement until she reminded herself that they were in the middle of a battle. So Hammann along with the other destroyers formed a picket circle around the Sudentor.
Also Nimi was able to assist because the doctor took the helm and was guiding the freighter.
The Andersen Fleet were in awe of how these girls were able to destroy the drone ships as one battleship literally split in two because of both sea and air attacks. Unicorn mounted U-Chan and protected the Andersen by shooting down any remaining siren aircraft while Illustrious, Centaur, Glorious and Victorious sent up their Seafires to protect the Osean Carrier and the fleet.
The Azur Lane Battleships positioned themselves in the direction of the enemy fleet along with the cruisers as they waited for the signal to launch the full volley.
Meanwhile, the three main squadrons were trying to get a shot at the enemy fleet, but the Iron Blood and Sakura kansen were preventing them from sinking more ships. Count was getting more annoyed of being singled out by Ise and Hyuuga as the two battleships gunned for him.
But Count has seen it all, he's experienced so much during the Lighthouse War and he wasn't going to get done in by some cat girls with big guns. As for Ise and Hyuuga, they began to carefully aim their main guns at Count's Eagle, determined to take him out.
Húxiãn shouted, "Strider 2, they have you in their sights!"
Count realized, "Damn it!"
High Roller shouted, "Count, get out of there!"
"I…I can't! There's too much AA!"
It was at that moment that both battleships had the perfect aim on the Eagle as Ise stated,
"We have you now!"
But before they could fire their guns - two missiles and several Dauntlesses threw off their aim as their shells missed Count. Hyuuga was confused,
"Ise, what happened!?"
Both kansen looked up and heard a familiar voice on the radio,
"Still alive, Sir Count?"
Descending from the sun were two F-22 Raptors, one was carrying a familiar silver haired carrier with her bow out. But the other prominent feature of that Raptor was the marking on the tail - Three Scratches.
Count was surprised, "TRIGGER! YOU'RE HERE!"
It became clear to both Sakura battleships that Three Strikes had arrived. But he's also brought the Grey Ghost as well as the carrier leapt from the wing and onto the water which made Ise realize,
"It's…Three Strikes!"
Hyuuga was a bit frightened, "He's…he's here!"
Their mood didn't go unnoticed by some of the squadrons as Jaeger spoke,
"Look at those two girls, they stopped firing and are just standing there like they've seen a ghost."
Trigger stated, "The Sakura Empire knows about me and they are somewhat afraid of me."
"Trigger! I'm glad we were able to find you! But Sakura Empire?"
"I'll debrief you guys after the mission, in the meantime I need Cyclops, Sol and Strider to get clear. My fleet is preparing a saturation attack."
The older man understood this as they started pulling out. Trigger called out to Sol 2,
"Strider 1 to Sol 2, pull back until my fleet makes their go."
Wit, who was glad to see that Osea's Ace was okay, stated, "Roger that, Strider 1. The Voslagian Aircraft will pull back, it's good to have you back."
The main LRSSG Squadrons pulled back as Trigger contacted his fleet,
"Your Majesty, all aircraft are out of the blast zone, commence saturation attack on Sakura and Iron Blood fleet!"
Elizabeth figured, "Affirmative, awaiting target coordinates."
Long Caster spoke, "All shipgirls, this is AWACS Long Caster, sending target data to you now. Fire for effect."
Soon enough, several red 'TGT' marks appeared on the hud as Trigger announced,
"Everyone, give this attack everything you got! Fire!"
It was at that moment that all Azur Lane ships as well as Strider 1, Strider 5 and the Ridgebacks opened fire on the enemy fleet. The battleships and cruisers rained hell on the siren ships as Ise, Hyuuga and the Deutschland sisters evaded the amount of shells and missiles being thrown at them. Enterprise and Hornet launched their SBDs and B-25s as the siren vessels tried to knock the attacking aircraft out of the skies, only to be hit by an array of bombs, missiles and shells.
The Iron Blood sisters did wince in pain due to getting hit by either Sol or Cyclops Squadron before the saturation attack while the two battleships felt a sting from Three Strikes' missile which threw their aim off.
Ise realized, "Our Mass-Produced Ships are being sunk! We have to go to Plan B! Retreat!"
Hyuuga sighed, "Got it!"
Deustchland was irritated, "Fine, we'll let the airships deal with them! I will take Three Strikes as my slave another day!"
Graf Spee looked at the full squadron and sighed, "Let's fall back."
Once the attack ended, they saw several wrecked drone ships as Trigger saw the four kansen retreating. He noticed,
"Looks like they're falling back."
Tabloid spoke, "They must've realized that they couldn't handle us with wrecked siren ships against a combined force of land and sea."
Suddenly, there was a female voice from the Andersen,
"Wait…you're alive, Tabloid!?"
"Well, I knew this was coming…hey Avril, looks like you're here too."
"You got a lot of explaining before I kill you myself!"
"I do, but you're not going to like what happened to me…"
Trigger stated, "Will you two save it for the honeymoon? We still have a job to do."
Count was surprised, "So Tabloid was alive all along?"
High Roller spoke, "The anarchist is as lucky as I am."
Trigger recognized him, "Wait? High Roller!? I thought you were dead!"
"What can I say? I've been avoiding Death's Scythe since Roca Roja. It's good to see you again, pal."
Trigger was surprised to see his squadron, but to also see that the gambler was alive. One of his big regrets in the 444 was being unable to save him at Roca Roja, but he's alive now which was a relief for him.
He soon called out, "This is Strider 1, all Osean and Erusean forces report!"
The Erusean portion led by the Battlecruiser Gunther spoke,
"This is the Battlecruiser Gunther, a few ships took minor to moderate damage, but we managed to survive long enough for you to arrive. All things are good for us."
The Andersen spoke, "This is the captain of the aircraft carrier Admiral Andersen, all Osean ships managed to hold off the enemy ships while only sustaining moderate damage. No problems for our course."
Trigger asked, "Strider 1 to Sudentor, what's your status?"
The radio spoke, "Oh, is that the Kommadant that I hear? This is the Iron Blood kansen, Prinz Eugen on the Sudentor. That protection you sent us, had saved us from being fish food."
"Nice to see you, too. What's the status of the freighter's cargo?"
"The freighter is an aircraft transport, we have several planes and a scientist who claims to know you."
All the kansen were surprised to hear that the freighter had a survivor onboard which brought some relief knowing that they were able to save at least one human life on those freighters. Soon enough, a voice spoke,
"This is the Sudentor to Strider 1, I thank you for saving my life, once more."
Trigger recognized the voice, "Dr. Schroeder!? What are you doing on that ship?"
"After you left for Farbanti, I booked passage on the Sudentor which included transporting planes back to North Osea. I was inspecting the planes when the sirens took the ship and sent it to this world. The crew didn't make it and I was only able to keep myself hidden long enough until those three girls captured the ship and found me."
Trigger had a feeling that the scientist was at the wrong place at the wrong time,
"You could've taken a flight."
"I would, but I prefer to be working with experimental airplanes and I wanted to keep a low profile."
The pilot can understand, after what the Belkan Scientist did during the war and how his product nearly unleashed chaos on the world. He stated to his forces,
"All Coalition forces, I'm sure you have questions about my new allied fleet. But if you would kindly accompany me to my base, I will give you the full story."
Count figured, "We appreciate it, buddy. I was singled out by two cat girls who were armed with literal big guns and swords."
High Roller had that itch, "Hold up, five bucks says that something bad is going to happen."
Jaeger sighed, "Why are you so pessimistic, High Roller?"
The gambler looked at his radar and saw something appear from the clouds, "Because I'm always right, look there!"
They saw two aerial warships emerge from the clouds, Trigger noticed that they looked similar to the aircraft in an artist's description of the Assault Over the Glava Islands during the Emmeria-Estovakia War. It was first time he's ever seen it as he heard Fencer speak,
"What the hell is that!?"
Prinz Eugen recognized it, "That's Aigaion, a Heavy Command Cruiser! Red Axis must've sent it to hunt us down!"
Jaeger realized, "A Heavy Command Cruiser? Are you kidding me!?"
Long Caster spoke, "I'm picking up multiple blips coming from the heavy command cruiser. A swarm of enemy drones just launched!"
Slash realized, "Damn it, just like with Orgoi, Red Axis is utilizing Aigaion to launch their siren mass-produced planes."
Trigger stated, "All aircraft, split up and protect the fleet from the sirens. All kansen, set up a wall of AA fire! I don't want even a horsefly getting in!"
The Coalition planes split off as the kansen began opening up with their anti-air guns against the siren aircraft.
As for Trigger, he was warned by the Admiral of the possibility of an aerial warship showing up. So, he remembered the plan,
"Long Caster, open a communication signal with these coordinates: 6.0236 S, 143.5312 E."
The AWACS looked up the coordinates and realized, "That…those coordinates are for an island in the west."
Wales spoke, knowing what's at these coordinates, "The Commander knows what he's doing, Long Caster. Trust him."
The AWACS accepted it and opened up communications with the coordinates. Trigger spoke,
"Attention Stonehenge Giluwe, this is Strider 1 of Azur Lane. A Heavy Command Cruiser under control of Red Axis is attacking my fleet. We need that cruiser shot out of the skies!"
There was a brief pause for a moment before the radio chimed, "We read you, Strider 1. STN Giluwe is online and we need you to mark the target with the radar."
Trigger confirmed this as his radar updated to show a red TGT reticle on the command cruiser. He turned flew towards the cruiser as he stated,
"I have a radar lock. Stonehenge, do your thing."
"Roger that, from that distance, turret #5 can hit it. Commencing countdown."
The countdown started as the railgun prepared to fire at the command cruiser with Trigger doing the terminal guidance. But before the countdown ended, a green circle appeared on the radar as the commander spoke,
"Halt the countdown, we lost the target!"
Count realized, "The stupid thing's flying in the open!" He soon noticed, "Wait? My radar's acting up!"
Trigger realized, "Our radar is being jammed!"
"The Kottos!" Said New Jersey as she destroyed three siren drones,
"The Kottos is a mid-sized aircraft responsible for electronic warfare! It's also the source of the jamming signal! You need to take it down or else the shot won't hit the target!"
Long Caster stated, "Then we have our objective - Strider Squadron, shoot down Kottos."
Trigger acknowledged this as all six aircraft formed up and attacked the EW Aircraft. Trigger stated,
"Target the radome on the front and back, that will decrease their ESM capabilities."
Tabloid spoke, "High Roller and I got this, Trigger."
The two planes split up and attacked Kottos' radomes as the warship's anti-air guns spun up trying to down the two planes until Húxiãn and Jaeger attacked the AA Guns, destroying them as Trigger and Count struck Kottos' engines, destroying them. Soon enough, a new target appeared on the HUD as Long Caster spoke,
"Focus fire around the cockpit, mess up their steering!"
Trigger announced, "Strider Squadron, let's go all-out!"
Soon enough, both sailor, pilot and kansen saw all six aircraft form up as they split in three and dived on the cockpit, launching a missile at the target, three missiles for each attack, three planes each, three strikes for each wing.
The damage done on the cockpit destroyed the control unit that was retrofitted by the sirens as the EW aircraft lurched down and crashed into the ocean, away from the fleet.
Trigger announced, "Electronic Support System down! Target is back on radar!"
While they were anticipating for the countdown to continue, Long Caster spoke,
"Wait, something just launched from the command cruiser…" After he looked over what launched, he noticed,
"It's an aircraft, an A-10!"
Trigger realized, "Damn it!"
Count asked, "Something we should know, Trigger?"
"If that A-10 has teeth, it's bad news."
"And it does have teeth, Three Strikes!",said a familiar voice.
Trigger recognized this voice, "Varcolac 2!"
"My name is Daniel Oruma and I am number 2 of Varcolac Squadron, it's good to fight you again, Three Strikes."
Trigger figured, "Why are you being nice all of a sudden?"
"Sulejmani and Rodriguez do want you dead, I shoot down my enemy, but I don't hate them."
Count asked Trigger, "Friend of yours?"
The flight lead stated, "He's a mercenary hired by the Iron Blood to kill me."
Oruma asked, "Are these planes friends of yours?"
"This is the rest of my squadron, Oruma."
"Now this is interesting, but my quarrel is not with them. I want a rematch of our duel from Wake."
Trigger had a feeling that the merc was there to challenge him after it was interrupted due to Varcolac 1 and Crimson 1's arrival. So he announced,
"Strider Squadron, break off. He's mine."
Húxiãn asked, "Are you serious?"
Jaeger pointed out, "If he challenged him to a one-on-one air duel, the best we can do is pull back."
High Roller pointed out, "You're right, my money's on Trigger anyway."
Tabloid spoke, "I've actually seen him fly against their leads in the last mission, if anyone can do this - It's Trigger."
Count stated, "Scrap him, Trigger."
The five aircraft broke off, leaving the Raptor alone to face the Warthog. Oruma noted,
"A wise decision to tell your squadron to break off. Now we can begin."
The two planes soon commenced their duel as the A-10, despite being an attacker, was tuned to act as a fighter. He was able to keep up with Trigger's F-22 as the powerful Gatling gun attempted to shred the stealth fighter to ribbons. But Trigger pulled a post-stall somersault as the A-10 passed him, the Osean opened fire on the merc as the bullets struck the armored fuselage of the Warthog before it banked away.
"Not bad. I guess it's more difficult to hunt a three-lined wolf in an A-10."
The Warthog soon turned and fired two missiles at the Raptor. Trigger saw this and used his evasive maneuvers to avoid the missiles by barrel rolling to the left and doing a dive loop which led to the missiles slamming into the water before doing a high-g turn to get Oruma in his sights.
The two were now facing each other as they flew towards each other as both Azur Lane and Red Axis, who were watching from a distance, believed that they were going to crash. But before Oruma could fire the Gatling Gun, Trigger had launched a missile which slammed into a non-critical area of the A-10 as the F-22 did a barrel roll which made the two planes pass each other at a knife's edge as both pilots saw each other. Oruma sighed,
"You managed to hit me and the damage reminds me of when I was with Valahia."
He soon declared, "There's no doubt that you won this duel, Three Strikes. I'm pulling out, no need to continue with a damaged plane."
The Warthog pulled out as the others were attempting to pursue until Trigger said,
"Let him go, we'll deal with him later."
Count asked, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure that we will see him again since there's a contract on me after all."
Count understood this as Strider Squadron got back into formation as Trigger contacted Stonehenge,
"Strider 1 to Stonehenge, status report."
"This is STN Giluwe, the jamming from Kottos is gone, but it has messed up our spotting system. The data regarding the cruiser is invalid, the thing needs to slow down."
Trigger asked, "You want us to attack the engines?"
STN Giluwe was specific, "Destroy the central engines, once they're destroyed - Aigaion will slow down."
Long Caster heard this, "Then we need to destroy at least two engines on the cruiser."
He called out, "Strider Squadron, Ridgeback Squadron, commence attack on the Heavy Command Cruiser! Focus fire on the central engines."
The four ASF-X Shinden IIs formed up beside the Oseans as Slash spoke,
"Ridgebacks, ready to hunt that whale?"
Lance spoke, "Roger that, Captain Ahab!"
"Didn't he go down with Moby Dick in the end?"
Lance was surprised, "Whoa, you read it too, Major?"
There was a chuckle from the major as Trigger spoke,
"That thing has a lot of anti-air weapons, more so than the Orgoi. That's why Striders 3,4,5 and 6 will go after the guns and missiles while Strider 2 and I go after one of the engines."
Slash spoke, "That's an interesting plan to pair up and attack the engines. Don't worry about the other engine, Edge and I will handle that."
The two squadrons soon formed up and made their way to the cruiser. Once they were in range, the cruiser's AA Guns and Missiles spun up as the large aircraft opened fire as both squadrons dispersed as they attacked the anti-air weapons while Trigger, Count, Slash and Edge went after the central engines.
Trigger reminded, "Remember we need to take out the two central engines in order to slow this thing down."
Count stated, "Right-o!"
Slash replied, "Roger."
Edge said, "Roger."
That's when they went into action by attacking the inner engines near the centerpiece of the cruiser. The engine units were easy to destroy as Striders 1 and 2 fired their guns at the units on the engine itself, destroying the central port engine while the Ridgebacks destroyed the starboard central engine with their guns as well.
Upon the destruction of the engines, the cruiser began to slow down as Trigger said,
"Okay, the engines are destroyed, the Heavy Command Cruiser is slowing down. All planes fall back."
The two squadrons fell back to the fleet as Trigger contacted the STN,
"We did our part. Stonehenge, shoot."
"Hang on, the data is updating and….There! We have a target lock on the cruiser! Recommencing countdown!"
The countdown was restarted as the aircraft continued to protect the fleet from the drones. Soon enough, they heard the final countdown,
"10,9,8,7,6,5…" They heard a voice state that their adjusting angle as the countdown finished, "4,3,2,1…Fire!"
Soon enough, the sound of a cannon firing was heard on the other line as a projectile coming in at a super high speed slammed into the Aigaion, splitting the cruiser in two as it fell into the ocean as the fleet watched. Upon its impact with the water, several cheers from both sailors, kansen and the STN operators were heard.
Long Caster announced, "The Heavy Command Cruiser has been destroyed! Excellent work!"
STN Giluwe stated, "Strider Squadron is today's MVPs, especially the lead bird. He's Azur Lane's Big Shot."
Trigger stated, "Strider Squadron itself are Azur Lane's Big Shots, not just me."
Wales was amused, "You crediting your squadron for a mission success is admirable."
"Don't doubt yourself, the MVPs for the seas are the kansen for keeping the fleet safe after we initially arrived to defend them."
Unicorn spoke, "Thank you, Big Brother for believing in us!"
Elizabeth stated, "Well, you sure have proven yourself, Commander."
Skald asked, "Wait, Trigger's a Commander?"
Lanza asked, "And why did one of the girls call him, Big Brother? Doesn't Trigger already have a sister?"
The Commander of Azur Lane stated, "Cyclops 2 and 4, I'll tell you what happened after we are at my base."
He soon announced, "In the meantime, Azur Lane, Victory is Ours!"
The satisfying 'ding' as Mission Accomplished appears on the HUD.
Kyoten
Iron Blood Command Center
1600 hrs
Bismarck slammed her fist against the map upon hearing that their mission failed. Not only did Prinz Eugen escape with the freighter, they encountered a modern fleet protecting the freighter, at least four squadrons of planes protecting the fleet with a Star Roundel insignia and an red aperture insignia.
The battleship remembered the Sakura report on the roundel on Three Strikes' plane - the Eagles and Lightning IIs had the same thing.
Bismarck was also accompanied by Tirpitz, Akagi and Kaga as they watched the Iron Blood Leader look over what happened. Akagi stated,
"Ise and Hyuuga were going after a plane with a winged top hat insignia, believing to be the flight lead."
Bismarck knew this as she said, "It turns out they were only half-right since Three Strikes arrived to save that plane." She held a recorder, "There was also a recorded message between these two planes. It seems we have found the rest of Strider Squadron since that plane is Strider 2."
Kaga realized, "Then he now has a whole squadron."
Akagi was surprised, "It's unreal that the rest of Trigger's squadron are now in the pacific."
Tirpitz asked, "But where did they come from exactly? There were no modern allied ships in the area and none that were flying their flags."
Bismarck sighed, "There have been reports of siren portals opening up and cargo ships like the one that the traitors took came from those portals."
Tirpitz figured, "Even when we retrofit Siren Technology to our riggings, we don't know anything else about them."
Akagi stated, "We do know that the Sirens appeared after the Ulysses Disaster and we, warships ,were brought back to fight them. I do not know why they are targeting humanity, maybe the asteroid collision caught their attention."
Kaga agreed, "That's the basis of how the Sirens started to appear." She soon looked at the map, "But those portals, the freighters, the modern fleet and fighters all came from it."
The dark fox added, "And from Ise's assessment, they dislike the sirens as well. So it is most likely that this fleet intentionally used a siren portal from wherever they came from."
Tirpitz realized, "Searching for Three Strikes."
"Exactly and he came to them."
Bismarck stated, "Which cost us hundreds of siren mass produced ships, planes, a Kottos and a Heavy Command Cruiser due to Stonehenge."
"But despite the defeat, my fight with Three Strikes made me feel satisfied."
That made the kansen turn to see a human male pilot with a flight suit with the Varcolac emblem.
Bismarck was surprised, "Guten Herr Oruma, I can see that you enjoyed this defeat."
Oruma stated, "Plenty and I figured that I hand in the photos of the battle before I retire for the evening."
The pilot handed her the photos of the battle as she saw the wrecked siren fleet and the Coalition fleet with Azur Lane putting a defensive position around the modern Battlecruisers and the single Aircraft Carrier. The Azur Lane destroyers were protecting the freighter which was why U-81 and U-556 failed to make a torpedo run due to the combination of kansen depth charges and ASROCS from the modern ships.
She said, "Danke, Herr Oruma. You may leave now."
As the pilot left, the Sakura and Iron Blood kansen looked at the photos that had Strider Squadron in formation, which is of four F-15Cs and two F-22s. The few photos showed the actual duel as Oruma and the F-22 circled each other like dogs waiting to pounce.
As Kaga looked at this, she saw the F-22 briefly change into that blue winged Eagle from her vision.
Azur Lane HQ
Debriefing
1750 hrs
After the LRSSG had landed at Azur Lane HQ, the Admiral Andersen and the Sudentor were docked at the port while the Osean and Erusean surface ships were sitting at anchor.
In the meantime, the pilots, kansen and crew were sitting down waiting for the debriefing as Trigger walked in. After he was in front of everyone, he soon began the debrief,
"The rescue mission was a success and the Iron Blood defectors have made it to the base. But this mission had some unexpected circumstances…"
He looked at the Osean and Eruseans, "The fleet we rescued are in fact naval vessels and pilots from the Kingdom of Erusea and the Osean Federation. As a matter of fact, Strider Squadron is among those who we rescued."
Wales asked, "Pardon me, sir. But why were you separated from your squadron in the first place and where are Osea and Erusea because according to the map - they do not exist."
Trigger stated, "The answer is yes that Osea and Erusea don't exist - at least in this world."
Belfast asked, "What do you mean, Master?"
"I mean that the Coalition sea and air forces came from another earth, one entirely different from this one - myself included."
Cleveland asked, "Wait…you're from a different earth? But if that's true, then how are you here?"
Trigger had a serious look, "Remember the Point Mugu Raid and how I assisted the Naval Air Force against those bombers?"
The kansen and Ridgebacks knew of this as Trigger finished,
"It's because when the sirens began their raid, I was just exiting a siren portal that sent me from my world to yours."
High Roller spoke as he held up his camera, "He's not kidding, ladies. I even have video proof of him flying through the portal when he was chasing a drone after blowing up its carrier in our world. The damn boat nearly killed the Princess of Erusea before they blew it out of the water."
Prinz Eugen chimes in, "I am inclined to believe him since we had witnessed the Andersen fleet appear from the portal. These sailors and pilots risked traveling into the unknown to find him and they were determined to run a blockade of siren ships in their world guarding the portal."
"And from the various Gründer freighters going missing, we can confirm those aliens were using a teleportation device to jump to our world for them."
Tabloid figured, "Yes, our gambling friend has a point."
Enterprise asked, "So what you said to Akagi about siren technology almost killing a Princess?"
Trigger nodded and said, "That was our first encounter with the sirens."
He plugged a flash drive into the projector as a map of the Usean Continent booted up as the location of the encounter was shown,
"Strider and Sol Squadron were assigned to escort Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise to the Erusean Capital, Farbanti. We were en-route to Dennis Airport until Long Caster spotted what was previously an unidentified vessel. Sol 2 and I split off to identify it and we saw how alien it was. It soon launched its aircraft and a battle ensued until we destroyed the flight decks. That's when the carrier's main gun aimed for the transport plane carrying the Princess."
Wales guessed, "So you and your squadron destroyed the main gun?"
"The end result was a chain reaction, destroying the carrier, but one jet managed to escape from it. So I pursued the drone alone."
Slash stated, "That was very risky, but you were against an unknown enemy."
"And we just got out of a war involving drone fighters, Major."
Edge spoke, "But I have to give your squadron credit, when they noticed that you haven't returned, they devoted their efforts to finding you."
Count stated, "He's our leader and a friend. Strider Squadron won't be complete without him."
Jaeger soon stated, "Finding Trigger was only half of the job. Our second reason is to put an end to this threat to our world."
Soon enough, a new voice spoke, "And that must be the sirens."
Everyone in the room looked to see a well-dressed naval officer with his hands behind his back. Trigger stood at attention and saluted,
"Admiral Williams, sir!"
"At ease, Commander." He said calmly as he looked at the new faces around the room. He stated,
"It's good to see that the mission was a success. That adds the three Iron Blood defectors to our forces and now you are reunited with your squadron. You did well out there, son and that extends to the rest of your fleet."
He soon held a datapad, "As for the Sudentor, her cargo has already been removed and sent to the airfield, this shipping manifest will show what was aboard."
He looked at the new faces, "In the meantime, I am Admiral Daniel Williams with Fleet HQ at Pearl Harbor. I am in charge of the infrastructure of Azur Lane, the unit your squadron leader is in command of. Your piloting skills are impressive and the cooperation with the Commander has impressed many higher ups. Pacific Fleet Admiral Kazansky even stated that it was phenomenal. Azur Lane could use pilots like you and considering your lead's position as Commander, I would say that it's obvious."
Count stood up and said, "If Trigger's flying into hell, then that's where we'll go. You can count on us, sir.
The other Osean and Erusean pilots agreed as they knew that they were going to be flying with Trigger once more.
The kansen knew that they would be seeing more pilots on the base as Enterprise had recognized them from her dreams. She had seen them in her dreams, how they fly and most certainly how Jaeger will mention his son. No doubt that he will be telling the stories about the Lighthouse War to the destroyers.
The Admiral soon spoke as he brought out a file, "There is also something else: The pilot that Trigger fought is named Daniel Oruma. His file points out that he was born in Eagle Union, but it may suggest that one of his parents were from the Sakura Empire, judging from his accent. I can only imagine what he was feeling during the Tokyo Incident which was where the Crimson Team and Varcolac Squadron nearly dropped a satellite on Tokyo, the capital of the Sakura Empire. They were hired by the Iron Blood to hunt down your flight lead."
Count knew that it was the A-10 pilot, but to hear that two rival squadrons were gunning for Trigger which reminded him too much of those bats. But he still has a question,
"Sir, I know we just got here, but what exactly is going on? What is Azur Lane?"
Trigger chuckled as he said, "I might as well explain what it is…"
One explanation later…
After explaining what the unit is, the kansen, the factions, the war and the enemy that they are facing. The LRSSG had a look of shock on their faces because of the circumstances that led up to their predicament. It started after Trigger arrived in this world and saved a naval base from a bombing raid, meeting Yorktown, saving a training flight from siren fighters which lead up to Admiral Williams choosing Osea's Ace Pilot to command a fleet of shipgirls.
Count looked at Tabloid and asked, "Is he telling the truth?"
Tabloid nodded, "It's true, these girls are literally physical embodiments of legendary warships from this world and when the sirens appeared, Azur Lane was formed to fight them. "
Trigger stated, "Originally, there were four main factions: Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire and Iron Blood."
Count figured, "Right…and those girls that were gunning for me were from the Sakura?"
That's when Shinano spoke, "Ise and Hyuuga, they are Sakura Battleships who saw you as the flight lead and it was that reason why they were after you, Lieutenant."
Count realized, "So what's their story? Why were they shooting at us in the first place?"
The dream fox sighed, "Once they were part of Azur Lane, but not at this moment."
Trigger stated, "On December 7th, the Sakura Empire and Iron Blood had separated from Azur Lane and declared war by launching a surprise raid on the base. They call themselves Red Axis and saw the idea of using the siren technology, but that power corrupts."
Wit figured, "Just like Belkan Technology when the Radicals hit their hands on it."
Seymour added, "But while Belka's technology is human, what they are after is alien."
Prinz stated, "We once believed that our best chance against the sirens is to turn their own resources against them. Azur Lane looks to be using human technology to fight the sirens and now I am certain that Bismarck was wrong."
Hipper spoke, "We realized now that as long as the Commander lives, he will reunite our factions with Azur Lane."
Trigger guessed, "And that's why you defected while capturing the Sundetor and saving Dr. Schroeder?"
Nimi stated, "It was Bismarck's decision to use Crimson and Varcolac to fight you which we did not agree with and we knew that you were the better leader. You have the drive to lead others to victory and the will to fight for the hope of tomorrow."
Eugen soon declared, "So I will say this - The Iron Blood Defectors will join Azur Lane in your efforts to liberate Kyoten."
Shinano spoke, "As well as the defectors of the Sakura Empire since Ayanami, Akashi and I have joined you during the liberation of Wake Island."
Ning Hai spoke, "You can count on us as well - The Dragon Emprey will stand with Azur Lane like it always has. But we stand with you, Commander."
Trigger knew that Shinano had never joined Red Axis, but Akashi and Ayanami did defect, which is fine by him. Ning Hai and Ping Hai were from a minor faction allied with Azur Lane, but their devotion to his command was an honorable one. Trigger soon stated,
"LRSSG, Azur Lane has been conducting a long range strategic strike to push towards Red Axis' GHQ on the island of Kyoten to end this war. Additionally, the loss of the Heavy Command Cruiser was seen as a signal as the allied fleets began taking back various territories as our line expanded. Azur Lane is the tip of the spear in this war and we will do whatever it takes to end this war before the superweapon Orochi is deployed."
Williams stated, "That's also why I am here."
"Sir?"
"While you were gone, my office was contacted by the Sicario Mercenary Group. They have heard of your exploits and are sending someone to serve as your Weapon Support Officer."
Trigger raised an eyebrow, "This mercenary company is sending only a WSO?"
The admiral nodded, "It's the only person capable enough to handle your rather…unique flying style."
"When will he arrive?" As if on cue, the door opens as a person walked into the room, Trigger looked and saw a woman wearing a flight suit, dark hair, blue eyes and a Sicario patch on the shoulder as Williams smiled,
"She… was waiting outside until called."
"You knew all along, you sly fox."
The woman saluted, "Commander, I'm Robin Kuo, TAC Name: President or Prez for short. I'm here to serve as a member of the aircraft maintenance crew and WSO for missions should you use two-seaters."
A/N: And that's a wrap!
Trigger has reunited with his squadron, rescued the defectors and shot down a heavy command cruiser.
Now three members of the Iron Blood have joined Azur Lane in order to disarm Red Axis. But now there's the contents of the Sudentor and Dr. Schroeder had a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time which brought him to that world.
Now Trigger was given a new member of the squadron and its Prez from Project Wingman.
I realize that I have been neglecting a dreamscape chapter for a while. So the next chapter will focus on Enterprise and Shinano observing Trigger's time in the LRSSG, mainly when he had to deal with a psychopath as more details of Trigger's life is revealed.
And yes, I know that the Top Gun Collab has been out for some time. The F-14A and F/A-18E were fun and I was happy to have them in Ace Combat 7. The Top Gun variants were more fast and nimble. The Darkstar is a fast bird, but a little too fast for my awareness since I nearly crossed the Off Course Line because I wasn't aware of how fast I was going.
But my gripe is the 5th Gen Fighter which is an SU-57, but without the pulse lasers. Is there an explanation?
But in the meantime...see you in the next chapter!
Nighthawk Out!